A Light in the Shadows
by booklover4816
Summary: A new tournament means a fresh slate for Ganondorf and his henchmen. But not everybody has forgiven, and certainly nobody has forgotten. Many of the others are suspicious of a certain King of Evil, but is he actually plotting something? Could these feelings of uneasiness mean trouble for the residents of Smash Mansion? Rated T for language and later violence.
1. Chapter 1

A new tournament means a fresh slate. The sins of Ganondorf and his gang were forgiven for the most part, having been chalked up to the influence of Tabuu; however they definitely weren't forgotten. Every veteran Smasher remembered what happened in Subspace perfectly, and who's fault it was that it even started in the first place (*cough* Ganondorf *cough) and who his two henchmen were. Peach, Zelda, Ness, Luigi, and Donkey Kong were still sore about the whole being turned into trophies, and several other smashers remembered their little tiffs with Wario and Bowser. But King Dedede, the only one who seemed to look back fondly on the whole adventure, told the newcomers (and anyone else who would listen) over and over that his ingenious plan ultimately saved the day. This of course lead to an inevitable argument between him and Sonic, arguing that he saved day by shattering Tabuu's wings.

"I wish they would give it a rest already," Pit commented to Dark Pit one day. The twin angels were training against each other, when King Dedede and Sonic got into another one of their arguments about who really saved everyone from an eternity stuck as trophies in Subspace. "I mean, they both saved the day. Without King Dedede's badges and Sonic's speed, most of us would be trapped in Subspace while Tabuu used us as pawns in whatever sick game he was playing."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but for once I agree with you," Dark Pit replied. While Pit was an airhead most of the time, he could actually be perceptive when he wanted to. He had to be, otherwise he'd still be a simple messenger instead of the Captain of Palutena's Guard. Usually, his perceptiveness came out when Palutena wasn't around (both Viridi and Dark Pit came to this conclusion). "What's the big deal with this Tabuu anyway? It's not like most of the people here haven't faced worse."

Pit grimaced as he dodged Dark Pit's blow. "No matter what blows we dealt, it felt like we weren't doing any real damage to him. What made it worse was he pitted Smashers against Smashers at first. And don't get me started on the maze. Besides, do you know what it's like to be turned into a trophy? It's horrible, like Hades's gut horrible."

Dark Pit knew to drop the subject after that. Pit was a very open person, but there were certain things that he kept to himself. His unintended (and, needless to say, unwanted) adventures in the innards of the Lord of the Underworld was one such topic he kept to himself. He refused to even talk to Palutena about it, which was saying something since he told her almost everything. Almost. If Pit was comparing what happened in Subspace to Hades's insides, then he wasn't going to talk about it. Besides, if Dark Pit really wanted to find out about what happened in Subspace, he could interrogate another veteran Smasher about it (preferably not King Dedede or Sonic, though, as they were kind of annoying with their petty "No, I'm the hero!" catfights and hissy fits).

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise nearby. Pit turned to look, leading to a pretty serious looking cut on his left arm courtesy of Dark Pit's silver bow, but he was too distracted by the scene in front of him to notice, or even care. It appeared that King Dedede decided to end the fight once and for all. He was holding his huge, wooden hammer triumphantly over a disoriented Sonic. The self-proclaimed king had whacked the blue hedgehog and sent him sailing into a nearby sword rack against the brick wall.

"Ouch," Pit hissed with sympathy. "That has got to hurt."

"What's got to hurt, Pit?" the familiar voice of the Goddess of Light asked as it rang through both angels' laurel crowns. She was somewhere else in Smash Mansion, but now Pit would revert to his air-headed self. At least she wasn't in the training room, otherwise the lighter angel would follow her around like a lost puppy with its tail between its legs.

Dark Pit scowled. "He's talking about Sonic's new head injury. Dedede just knocked him into the bricks."

"Should I send Dr. Mario down there?"

"That's probably a good idea, Lady Palutena," Pit replied dutifully. "Sonic probably has a concussion. You might want to send reinforcements too. You know, to stop King Dedede."

"Already done," she replied. "What about your arm, Pit?"

"My arm?" Pit asked in confusion before looking down and noticing, to his surprise, that he was wounded. It was bleeding alarmingly heavily now, but Pit was acting like he didn't notice before. That was strange because not even Pit was air-headed enough to not detect a nasty wound like that. "It's fine, Lady Palutena. Nothing a few band-aids and a soak in a hot spring won't fix."

"It's bleeding rather heavily," Palutena said with concern laced in her voice. "You mean you weren't even aware of it until I said something?"

"I was distracted," Pit defended. "It's fine. Really, Lady Palutena."

"So you said. But are you sure you're feeling alright, Pit? Other than your arm? It's not like you to be so absent minded when it comes to injuries. Especially injuries like that."

Pit was already wrapping a makeshift bandage around it using supplies he pulled out of some random lockers. "I'm fine, really. I was just distracted by the scene that King Dedede and Sonic were making."

Palutena didn't reply, but Dark Pit could feel her concerned silence on the connection. She was trying to come up with a way to respond that wouldn't alarm Pit. She seemed to think something was up and, though Dark Pit didn't want to, he trusted her judgement when it came to his lighter counterpart. Pit spent so much time around his beloved goddess that she knew him better than he knew himself. If anyone could truly judge if something was off with the angel, it was Palutena.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Just come see me and I'll heal you. I'm in my room. Pittoo, I want you to escort him on account of blood loss. Just to make sure he doesn't get hurt."

With that, she broke the connection. Pit sighed. "Come on, Pittoo. We better get going or Lady Palutena will activate the power of flight and drag me to her room."

Dark Pit said nothing, not even to correct that blasted nickname, as Pit headed to the doors of the training room, stumbling slightly. He looked down and saw, much to his surprise, a pool of blood where Pit had been standing. The lighter angel must have been bleeding pretty heavy, but not heavy enough to pass out.

The pool of blood was all it took to convince Dark Pit that something was wrong with his counterpart. There was no possible way that nobody, not even Pit, wouldn't notice a wound seeping that much blood, even if they were distracted. Not unless something was seriously wrong with them.

Concerned for his twin, the dark angel took off after his twin. Besides seeing Pit safely to his goddess, Dark Pit needed to have a serious conversation with Palutena.

For once, he was grateful for his twin's connection to the goddess.

* * *

As a certain dark angel was worrying about his twin, several of the mansion's inhabitants flocked like sheep down to the training room to see what all the commotion was about. Ike, however, was not one of them. The swordsman saw this as a perfect opportunity to raid the fridge and smuggle out some of his "secret" stash of KFC, his guilty pleasure. Peach, a dictator in the kitchen who had a no snacking between meals rule, was one of the many Smashers to go downstairs and see what was going on now. Ike couldn't normally access his "secret" stash until after midnight when Peach was fast asleep because she watched the fridge and the cupboards like a doberman. The last time somebody tried to raid the fridge between meals wasn't a pretty sight, even though they had the legitimate excuse of having low blood sugar due to skipping breakfast (one reason nobody should skip breakfast). But now was the perfect chance to nab some chicken and flee to his room for an hour since she was distracted.

"Peach is going to kill you," Zelda said from by the stove. "You know the rule."

"My workout routine and lifestyle requires a higher calorie intake," Ike replied. "It's not like I'm eating 10,000 calories a day and laying on the couch all the time like Wario."

"True. How he hasn't had a heart attack yet is one of life's biggest mysteries," the Hylian Princess agreed. "That still doesn't mean Peach isn't going to skin you alive for spoiling your supper."

"I'll probably be hungry again by supper," the swordsman said dismissively. "Besides, Peach isn't my mother. She doesn't scare me. And what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Zelda glared at him. "I'm not going to lie to Peach if she asks."

"Then I'll do what Ness did that one time and fake having low blood sugar."

"He wasn't faking," she scolded. "Eighteen hours is a long time between meals." She suddenly picked up a butcher knife and slammed it into a nearby cutting board. "Don't even think about it, Bowser Jr.!"

The young koopa prince froze in place with a chocolate bar in is scaly grip. He suddenly pointed an accusing finger at Ike. "But he's taking chicken from the fridge!"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that. But Ike's an adult and he's going to face the consequences of his actions like a man. You, however, don't need to be like him. You can have a chocolate bar after dinner."

She snatched the candy from Bowser Jr. and set it on the counter out of his reach, causing him to storm off with a pout on his face. Ike took that as his cue to leave too. He grabbed his red-and-white striped bucket from the fridge and closed the door. He went over by Zelda and laid his free hand on the counter before looking down into the pot of whatever cooking on the stove-top. "Looks delicious. Can't wait to eat it. Well, it was a pleasure talking to you, Princess. See you at dinner."

He quickly exited the kitchen and closed the door behind him. There, Bowser Jr. was waiting with his hand extended expectantly. Ike pulled out the candy bar that he snatched from the counter and handed it to the koopa prince. "Don't let Peach catch you with that. And I fully expect you to hold up your end of the bargain."

"Don't worry about it," Bowser Jr. assured the swordsman before sprinting off with his prize. Ike stared after him for a moment or two before shaking his head and starting upstairs to his room.

"Well considering we'll have a huge problem if you don't…"

* * *

Not everyone had adopted the "forgive and forget" attitude when it came to what happened during the Brawl tournament. Bowser was especially sore about the whole ordeal, especially when it came to the touchy topic of Ganondorf's betrayal. Once upon a time the King of the Koopas was best friends with the King of the Gerudos. Now, Bowser couldn't even stand to be in the same room as Ganondorf without the overwhelming urge to murder him.

Ganondorf avoided direct confrontation with the other for one reason and one reason only: Bowser knew something that would get Ganon booted from Smash Mansion and banned from Super Smash Bros. forever. Absolutely nobody but Bowser knew that Ganondorf had started planning the whole Subspace situation back in Melee, minus Tabuu of course. If Bowser revealed that crucial piece of information to Master Hand (who had been reinstated as head of the mansion) and the other Smashers, the Gerudo King would be in serious trouble.

Bowser had been tempted on several occasions to rat Ganondorf out, but thought against it. At the moment, that secret was the only thing that kept Bowser and his son safe from Ganon's wrath. Had Bowser Jr. not been in the mansion, the Koopa King would've done it already as he could take the other villain. But he wasn't about to put his beloved son in danger.

"Where have you been?" Bowser grunted as his son came down to the training room. The Koopa King had come down to see what all the commotion was about.

"Upstairs with Pit and Dark Pit," Jr. replied. But Bowser knew better. He had seen Dark Pit dragging an injured Pit upstairs most likely to find Palutena, meaning the twin angels had been in the training room. He could also see the chocolate stains on Jr.'s bib. But Bowser decided to let it go, for now.

King Dedede was nearby hollering about how Sonic started it as Donkey Kong, Marth, Link, Captain Falcon, and Lucina restrained him. Dr. Mario was attending to said blue hedgehog, whose head had been acquainted with the brick wall by the overgrown penguin's hammer. Bowser would've laughed at the sight, if Ganondorf hadn't been nearby watching him. Instead, Bowser felt his fight-or-flight sense activate in order to protect Jr., if need be.

"Why don't you go upstairs and find Lucas and Ness?" Bowser suggested, making eye contact with Ganon and glaring.

"But Papa—" Bowser Jr. began to protest with a whine.

"Now!" Bowser barked, causing Lucina to jump and let go of King Dedede's flipper.

Link and Marth gave him a weird look as Jr. scampered off, but Bowser never took his eyes off Ganon's.

* * *

 **It's been awhile since I've written a Super Smash Bros. fanfic, so I'm a little rusty. This might not be the best work. I don't own Super Smash Bros or it's characters.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ganon was up to something, and Bowser wasn't the only one who had that feeling. Dark Pit glanced at the Gerudo King over his cards. What the villain was writing down seemed very suspicious as it wasn't in a human language and it radiated darkness.

"Pay up," Wario grunted as he laid down his cards, revealing a royal flush.

Dark Pit scowled as he pushed part of his candy pile towards the fat Italian. The angel wasn't in a good mood, and part of it was because of Pit. Palutena had healed the lighter angel and sent him off to bed, but Dark Pit could feel something seriously wrong. The connection, the single string that kept their souls attached to one another, was tense, as if it were being pulled by opposing forces at both ends. There was also something radiating from Pit's end that made the dark angel feel uneasy. Dark Pit hadn't felt this way since the whole Chaos Kin ordeal, but something about this seemed worse than that, if it was possible.

"What's the matter with you?" Wario demanded as he dealt the cards for the next round.

"One royal flush is lucky. But five in a row? You're cheating," Dark Pit accused in a sour tone that matched his mood.

Wario shrugged. "I always cheat, but you've never complained before. Tell me, what's really going on? Doesn't have anything to do with that Pat guy, does it?"

"Pit," the angel corrected through gritted teeth. "His name is Pit. And mind your own damn business; I don't poke my nose around in yours."

"Fair enough."

Dark Pit saw Ganondorf leave the room out of the corner of his eye. He lowered his voice and said, "What's the deal with that guy?"

"Who? Ganon? Ah, he's a bastard. A bastard who screwed me over. I could've been rolling in dough, but he sent me after that damn Pokemon trainer and that little kid. Instead of collecting trophies and selling them for money, mine were stolen and I was turned into one."

Dark Pit rolled his eyes as Wario returned to his cards. It wasn't at all surprising to him that Wario went along with one of Ganon's plans as a way to get rich quick. Honestly, Wario would do anything for money- anything except exercise, that is. That still didn't answer Dark Pit's question. Something was off about Ganondorf, and it wasn't just because he was a bad guy. The angel contemplated putting the bug in Link's ear, but how to do that without making the Hylian hero suspicious of him was another story.

Dark Pit glanced at his hand and resisted the urge to scoff. Wario was definitely cheating. Lesson learned, don't ever play cards against the minigame proprietor. He made his bet, small but not small enough to make Wario suspicious. Right now it was beneficial to keep Wario in a good mood.

Not many people in Smash Mansion trusted the angel. It was probably because he was the darker version of Pit. They originally had thought he was the bad guy of the most recent Kid Icarus game, but Pit and Palutena quickly debunked that rumor. Still, the other Smashers were always on their guard whenever he was around.

Dark Pit was an outcast. The heroes didn't trust him and the villains knew he wasn't one of them. The only people that associated with him were Pit, Palutena, Wario (abet grudgingly as they were both using each other), and-strangely enough- Ike.

"Anyway," Dark Pit said, "is he always like that?"

"Like what?" Wario grunted.

"I don't know… Evil?"

Wario laughed. "He is the King of Evil. What did you expect?"

Dark Pit deadpanned. "That's not what I mean and you know it. It just feels like something's off with him. Like he's planning something."

The greedy man set his cards down on the table and met the angel's crimson eyes with his own beady orbs. "Look, you're a smart kid, could even become my intern someday," Dark Pit cringed internally at this, "but if you know what's good for you, you'll stay far away from Ganon. It's common knowledge that he's always planning something, next takeover of Hyrule or whatever. Just stay out of his way, otherwise…"

He drew a line across his throat; the dark angel got the message.

* * *

Ike quickly slammed his door before Peach could catch him. That girl had an umbrella and she knew how to use it. Ike really didn't want to be on the receiving end of her blows. The last time she pulled out her umbrella when she was angry… Well, let's just say Wolf had a hard time sitting for a week.

Somehow (*cough*cough*Zelda*cough*), she had found out about Ike's pre-dinner snack. Though it hadn't spoiled his dinner as Ike never, ever turned down food, she was angry that he had broken the rules. So Ike, being the genius that he is, fled to his room and shoved the dresser in front of the door. While she could use her umbrella with excellent precision and could send the likes of Bowser and Ganondorf flying in battles, she still wasn't quite strong enough to kick down the door when there was a dresser in front of it, especially when that dresser was Ike's, which was full of various heavy equipment and armor that he couldn't bare to throw away (he never knew when he needed a knight's lance or a steel bow, even though he himself couldn't use them).

"Open this door, Ike! Now!" Peach yelled as she beat her umbrella into the door, not that it was going to do much damage. His door was made of solid steel. Ike had grown smart since the last tournament. Now he just needed to get a mini fridge to keep his KFC leftovers in (a waste of money though, since he couldn't take it home with him; the struggles of living in a Medieval European-like society: no mini fridge, electricity, or KFC).

"What did he do now?" Marth asked from his room.

"Hey now! Why do you assume I did something wrong?" Ike retorted.

"Because it's you," the prince replied. "Wait a while, Princess Peach. He has to come out sometime to eat."

He heard Peach huff and storm off. Now that Ike was out of imminent danger, he had to wait a while before he could leave. Lay low, snack on chicken, and mull over how to keep Bowser Jr. to hold up his end of the bargain.

Ike was not stupid. He knew the value of a good spy, especially one that wasn't really aware he was being used. The mercenary was one of the few that hadn't quite forgiven Ganondorf, though he didn't mention it to anyone as the King of Thieves had seemingly redeemed himself in the eyes of many by fighting Tabuu in the end. Bowser Jr. was his key to keeping an eye on Ganon. It was no secret that Bowser, the King of Koopas himself, hated Ganondorf. The only reason he didn't outright fight the other was because of his beloved son. That, however, met that Bowser always kept an eye on the Gerudo King. He could be sneaky when he wanted to, but Ike had his way of finding out information.

He just hoped it wasn't too late when he finally pieced it all together.

* * *

King Dedede huffed as he flopped on his bed. As punishment for acquainting Sonic's head with the brick wall, Master Hand ordered him to clean the blood (and various other bodily fluids) off of the floor of several arenas, a job that would take weeks to complete. Of course it wasn't like he was actually going to do it; that's what the waddle-dees were for (and Kirby, if he could trick the little puffball into doing it).

"I thought Master Hand gave you a job to do," Falco said suspiciously from the doorway. The pilot was making his way to the laundry room to fetch his clothes when he noticed that King Dedede was in his room.

"Psh! You think I'm actually going to do it? I am a king after all," the so-called King of Dreamland said with a laugh. "I have minions for that kind of menial work."

Before Falco could say something in response, Ganondorf shoved him out of the way. Now, King Dedede had a reputation around the mansion for being completely oblivious of anybody except himself, but that wasn't quite true. Yes, he was the most important one in the mansion (or so he thought), but he did pay attention to the others. Not their lives obviously because he could care less about whose boyfriend broke up with them or whatever, but what they were doing. It was always beneficial to know what those around him were planning. It is how he knew to create his badges after all.

King Dedede strained his ears to listen to what Ganondorf was mumbling about. The King of Darkness was always up to something, so he always had to be on his toes to avoid being on the wrong end of whatever plans Ganon was cooking up.

"Yes, I know we need him. I know how powerful his kind is. To control him is to control the ultimate wrath. But how to avoid its nasty side-effects… Anyway, we don't have to worry about that; I've taken care of it. He will join us out of desperation; we will have him begging for mercy."

The ultimate wrath? That definitely didn't sound good, especially if it had nasty side-effects. And who was he talking about? Link? That was the only logical explanation. And what's this about "we"? It was no surprise that Ganon was planning something- and exploiting a powerful being in the process- but if he was working with someone, that could be very, very bad for the residents of Smash Mansion.

But the part about the "ultimate wrath" bothered King Dedede the most. It sounded like something magickey, and the self-proclaimed king was not a big fan of magic. Yes, yes, he was supposedly the King of Dreamland, but he didn't like magic like Ganon's or Bayonetta's because it was so complicated and scary. Maybe Bayonetta would have some ideas on what this "ultimate wrath" thingy was. It sounded like it was right up her alley- magickey and dangerous.

But just how to ask without her killing him…

* * *

"Link is friends with Pit, isn't he?" Palutena asked as Zelda poured Lucina's tea.

"Yes," Zelda replied thoughtfully. "Despite their rivalry, they're friends. Why do you ask?"

The Goddess of Light hesitated. Something was up with Pit, and both she and Dark Pit knew it. But getting Pit to admit something was wrong was like trying to tame a wild bull: tricky and dangerous. The angel would never, ever tell her if he even had a cold, let alone if something serious was going on, and he was extremely defensive and likely to lash out if someone confronted him about it.

But Palutena hoped he would trust other friends enough to confide in them, figuring they wouldn't tell her. If only she knew where to find other angels as she had a sneaking suspicion that he knew more about their whereabouts than he let on and regularly communicated with them (she couldn't exactly prove it; she knew there were more angels out there somewhere, but angels, including Pit, were very secretive about the whereabouts of their homeland, the legendary City of Angels).

"I was just wondering if Pit mentioned anything to him about anything going on," the goddess replied.

Robin snorted into her tea. "I thought Pit told you everything."

"Yes, I've never seen a servant so devoted to their patron until I met him," Peach added. She had calmed down from her earlier temper tantrum, though Ike hadn't been seen for hours.

"Well, Pit doesn't tell me everything," Palutena said. "He is entitled to his secrets like everybody else. I'm just worried about him. Something seems off and I can't put my finger on what it is."

"I'll put the bug in Link's ear to listen for anything," Zelda said.

"Well, tell him not to approach Pit directly. Pit takes it as an affront to be asked about his personal life. He sees it as nosing around his personal business."

On that happy note the other women changed the subject to who was dating who and what pairings would be cute together. Of course, Lucina sat on the edge of the group regarding the others with an uneasy hesitation. She didn't really understand the frivolities of "shipping" coming from a destroyed future. Of course Robin, Zelda, and Peach gladly partook in it. Palutena normally did too, but she was just too worried about Pit to talk about which male smasher would be cute with Samus (a woman who definitely did not appreciate being set up on blind dates).

She just hoped whatever was going on with Pit wasn't anything to be concerned about.

* * *

 **I still don't own the SSB Characters, but this plot is completely my own.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating Ike's golden sword. The dual handed holy blade was positioned right over his chest as the buff swordsman prepared to plunge it into his chest. He tried crying out, but his voice didn't seem to work. He couldn't understand why Ike was about to kill him. They were friends! At least that's what he thought…_

 _The rain poured down, causing Ike's blue hair to stick to his forehead. Somehow, that made him seem more menacing. Another flash of lightning allowed him to see the mercenary's eyes. They were blue waves of anger and fury. An unnatural scowl settled on his face and he got ready to go into for the kill._

 _"Prepare yourself," the swordsman grunted. "Monsters like you don't deserve mercy. Not after what you did."_

 _A voice that did not sound like his own came from his mouth. "Would you really kill your beloved friend? He's still in here you know." The voice changed to his own but he wasn't the one forming the words. "Help me, Ike! Make it stop! It hurts! Please Ike! Please make it stop!"_

 _An unholy scream echoed across the vast emptiness mixed with a bone chilling laugh. Both sounds were were coming from his mouth. Ike's eyes hardened, grief mixed with the anger in them. "That's enough out of you, beast! He's not your puppet anymore!"_

 _Ike brought the sword down towards his sternum, fully prepared to plunge it right through his-_

"No!" he cried as he awoke with a start.

His sheets and his body were soaked in cold sweat and he felt like he was going to puke. This was the fourteenth night in a row that he had a nightmare like that. It was getting to the point where he didn't want to sleep. But at least he assured himself they were only dreams; there was no way they could possibly be real.

At least he hoped that was the case. He used to get brief glimpses of the future, but that was before his mother put the block on that part of his mind. There's no possible way that these nightmares were visions of the future. Whatever they were though, he needed them to stop soon. They were messing with his sanity. He barely slept; he barely ate. It was amazing that he even showed up to his matches.

They had to stop before he completely lost it, otherwise they were in huge trouble.

* * *

Master Hand was furious. Everybody knew it immediately when he called them down to the training arena (the only formal place in Smash Mansion to fit all the Smashers at once). He only ever called them all together when something bad happened.

"What do you think happened this time?" Ness asked Link, who just shrugged.

"Roy probably broke a priceless vase or something again," Captain Falcon said while glaring accusingly at said swordsman. It was no secret that he wasn't a fan of Roy returning to Smash (he probably saw him as "competition" for all the ladies' affection).

Roy scoffed at the affront. "How dare you assume I did something wrong. One of the lovely ladies probably turned you in for your womanizing ways. I shudder to think what would have happened last week if Samus wasn't a kickass bounty hunter."

Captain Falcon clenched his fists, prepared to fight the Wielder of the Sword of Seals, but Wario grabbed him by the back of his jumpsuit and dragged him off before he could. "Oh no you don't. You still owe me money punk, and you are not getting yourself killed before I can collect."

Roy stuck his tongue out at the bounty hunter/F-Zero Racer before going to take his seat in the stands. Link meanwhile was pulled to a spot on the other side of the room by Zelda, who claimed she had something important to talk to him about. Ness, on the other hand, ran to catch up with Lucas, since he was kind of lonely not having many from his series in the tournament.

When all the fighters had finally made their way to the training arena and settled in their seats, Master Hand appeared. Master Hand was not furious. He was raging mad, which made all the Smashers feel bad for whoever had to face him later in Classic Mode. Whoever that was was really going to wish they were never invited to Smash Bros.

Luckily, the giant, disembodied hand cut right to the chase. "Who stole it?"

Confused, the fighters started mumbling among themselves. Who stole what? What was missing? It must have been pretty important for Master Hand to be as angry as he was, indicating that it was probably not a priceless vase (he never got that mad about those since it was a hazard with so many people under the same roof- and Link, the resident pot smasher, and Toon Link, the resident fancy pot smasher).

"Silence!" Master Hand roared. "One of you took it, and nobody is leaving until I find out who!"

Fox bravely (*read stupidly) cleared his throat and asked, "Took what?"

Master Hand's glove turned bright red with absolute rage and Fox quickly scrambled back, hiding behind King Dedede. "The jar! The jar with the shadow bugs! Where is it? Do you have any idea what will happen if they escape?"

Immediate chaos erupted. Fighters were yelling, pointing the blame at each other. Fist fights had broken out among the heroes and the villains. King Dedede shoved Wario. "Thought you'd make a quick buck, did you?"

"Oi! Who are you to blame me? As far as we know you took them to get funds to keep up your little 'King of Dreamland' charade." Wario shot back.

Meanwhile Ganondorf sat on the edge of the crowd in the shadows, watching the chaos unfold. It was beneath him to join in such petty fighting, but the petty fights worked to his advantage.

If everybody was occupied fighting, then they would never figure out his plans until it was too late.

* * *

 _"Just trusting you was my great sin. What can I do? You win again..."_

Pit was laying on the couch listening to the radio and staring at the ceiling. Hank Williams typically wasn't his jam, but he didn't feel like changing it. Besides, he needed something older and slower to clear his head a little.

"What are you doing?" Viridi asked curiously. She was meeting with Palutena and decided to find Pit.

 _"You have no heart, you have no shame..."_

"Admiring the genius of Hank Williams. Can you imagine what he had to go through to write such tragic songs?"

 _"I love you still, you win again."_

Pit continued. "I mean, he rose to stardom and then he was dead at only twenty-nine. He was a poet in his own right. I guess what they say is true; the brightest stars always burn out the fastest."

"You're seriously acting weird. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied dismissively. "I do have interests outside of serving Lady Palutena and fighting the Underworld."

"Uh-huh… And those interests include reading biographies and philosophising on the lives of dead early country and western singers?" she asked skeptically.

Pit rolled his eyes. "You know, I did have a job before I started serving Lady Palutena, and there's a lot of things I learned when I was younger."

He leaned over and picked up the iPod it was playing on before rewinding it. _"The news is out, all over town…"_ Viridi rolled her eyes and walked off, muttering about how weird Pit was. Not that he really cared about what she thought.

A moment after the goddess of nature left, Dark Pit came in and sat down on a chair near Pit. "Ugh, what are you listening to."

"The best kind of country music. Did you know the last song Hank Williams released before his death was _I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive?_ He told his wife Audrey that he wouldn't live another year without her when they divorced, and he was right."

Dark Pit rolled his eyes, obviously finding this side of Pit quite boring. The last thing he wanted to hear was his twin ramble about the life of Hank Williams. "Look, I really could care less. Can you turn on something else?"

Pit started grumbling to himself as he flicked through the music library on the iPod. He really didn't know whose it was, but it was left playing in the rec room, so it was fair game. The angel was typically upbeat, but he just wasn't in the mood for anything modern. He wanted something old. Something that matched his mood and helped to clear his thoughts. "Ah-ha. This is perfect."

The rich baritone voice of Jim Reeves started to flow from the speakers. _"Precious memories, how they linger…"_

Virdi scowled and grabbed fistfuls of her golden hair in frustration as she poked her head back into the room. "You're impossible!"

"And your point is?"

At that moment Palutena and Link walked in. The two had been discussing Pit and his sudden change in behavior and attitude. Both studied the scene before them with concern.

Link cleared his throat awkwardly. "I didn't think you were a Christian."

"I'm not," Pit said distastefully. "Just because angels are associated with Christianity, doesn't mean that all angels are Christians. How would I serve Lady Palutena if I was? Can't I just appreciate Jim Reeves because he's a good singer?"

"You missed it," Viridi butted in, "he was philosophizing on the life and music of Hank Williams earlier."

Pit scowled. "Fine! I'll change it!"

He mumbled angrily under his breath as he flicked through the music, which was a very un-Pit-like thing to do. The angel was in a foul mood. He hadn't been sleeping well, his arm still hurt from the whole training incident, and Viridi being her usual self was not improving his mood at all. Link and Palutena exchanged a look. Something was definitely going on with Pit, and whatever it was, it probably wasn't good.

 _"No matter how I struggle and strive, I'll never get out of this world alive."_

* * *

"I got the stuff," Lucas informed Ness, producing a bucket full of disgusting brown stuff that was part slime, part liquid. It was a gross mixture of soil, cattle manure, the previous night's trash from dinner (peas, yuck), toilet water, and a week's worth of rabbit urine.

"Excellent," Ness said eagerly as he put a clothespin on his nose. "He'll never see it coming. It will be forever before he gets the stink off!"

"Are you sure about this?" the blond asked. "If anything, he'll smell like ammonia for a week."

"How do you get ammonia from this?" Bowser Jr. asked. The Koopa Prince was always down with causing mischief, so he decided to join in on whatever Ness and Lucas were up to.

"He means the rabbit urine. It's rich in ammonia and very… potent. The only thing worse is cat, but we couldn't get that on such short notice," Ness replied. "This will teach him. He'll think twice next time he decides to cheat in a match. Get ready; I'll tell you when he's coming."

Lucas positioned the bucket on top of the rail and Bowser Jr. secured it with a rope. Ness pulled out the binoculars he had borrowed from the mansion's storage and started watching for their target. Up on the third floor where hardly anybody ever went, he had the perfect view of the mansion.

Peach and Zelda were having tea in the parlor with Lucina and trying to teach her how to be a proper princess (Lucina was being polite, but it was obvious she didn't want to be there). Link and Ike were discussing something, probably swords or something. Mario and Luigi were playing chess against each other. Wario had somehow convinced Dark Pit to play another round of poker with him. And male Robin sat in the corner reading an important looking parchment.

"He's coming!" Ness said as he saw their target. Lucas and Bowser Jr. prepared themselves. "On the count of three. One… Two… Three!"

When he said the last number, Lucas yanked on the rope, causing the bucket to fall over, dumping its contents onto their unsuspecting victim. As soon as it happened, Ness grabbed ahold of Bowser Jr. and took off with Lucas close behind. They could not, under any circumstances, be caught at the scene of the crime.

"What the—!" a surprised voice cried. Their victim, Captain Falcon, was covered in the slop. What was even better is the fact Seamus was coming the other way. She would get to witness the great F-Zero Racer covered in the slimy mixture.

"He'll never cheat again!" Ness snickered.

"A-And if anyone asks," Lucas told Bowser Jr., "we didn't have anything to do with it. Got it?"

"Oh yeah!" Bowser Jr. replied. That was the most fun he had since coming to Smash Mansion. There was nothing he loved more than causing chaos.

"Keep it a secret and we'll include you in our next prank, deal?" Ness asked.

"Of course," the Koopa prince agreed.

Suddenly, they were stopped in their tracks by running into a wall of some sort. The three young Smashers ended up getting knocked flat on their butts. The wall they ran into started growling, alerting them that they had, in fact, run into somebody instead of the wall. And that somebody was not someone they wanted to mess with.

Ganondorf, Hyrule's greatest villain, was glowering as he stared down at them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Ness and Lucas. Another prank I assume? And Bowser Jr.? I didn't think heroes associated with villains. I also didn't think your father allowed you to run about the mansion."

"Go away, Ganondorf," Ness said, pulling out his bat. He was fully prepared to take on the King of Evil to protect his friends.

Ganondorf chuckled. "Put it away little hero. I have no interest in fighting you. As for getting away, I was here first, if I'm not mistaken. Now scram before I change my mind."

Before Ness could retort, a large, scaly claw pushed him back. "Hey, what do-"

He cut himself off when he looked up and saw it was Bowser, the King of the Koopas himself who pushed him away. Bowser did not look happy at all.

"N-Ness, we should g-go," Lucas said as he shook violently. He had faced villains bigger than Bowser and Ganondorf, but he didn't really feel comfortable around them.

Besides, whatever was about to go down between the two villains probably wasn't something kids should see.

* * *

 **The mandatory "Ness pulls a prank scene." So cliché, I know. And why did they include Jr.? Simple, they're kids and so is he. Ness seems like the kind of guy where he wouldn't want anyone to feel left out. And I know Pit is majorly OOC, but trust me, you'll find out why.**

 **Anyway, I still don't own SSB or its characters. _You_ _Win Again_ and _I'll Never Get Out of This World_ Alive are two songs written by the great Hank Williams Sr., so obviously not mine. The other lyrics are from a hymn called _Precious Memories._ Jim Reeves, an American Gospel/Country singer, has the best version of it. Jim Reeves ****and Hank Sr. are two of my favorite singers.**


	4. Chapter 4

_The darkness surrounded him, as if he had been swallowed by some horrible beast. As far as he knew, that's exactly what happened._

 _"You cannot fight it boy," a raspy voice said. "Sooner or later, you will become one with me."_

 _"Never!" he spat. "I'll die before I ever let you take control of me!"_

 _"If that's the way you feel," the voice replied ominously._

 _He was a prisoner to the darkness. The voice wanted to possess him. It wanted to control him. It wanted to destroy him. But he couldn't let it. He couldn't put his friends in that kind of danger._

 _Still, he could only hold on for so long before he cracked. Even the strongest substance in the world would break like a twig if put under enough pressure in the right circumstance._

 _Suddenly, pain filled his body, going right to his very core. It was excruciating. His bones felt like they were breaking from within. His lungs felt like they were melting to goo. His skin felt like it was peeling off layer by layer. His eyes burned like somebody poured lava into them. His head felt like it was splitting, as if he were Zeus giving birth to the goddess Athena. He couldn't scream even if he wanted to. His throat felt as if he had been forced to swallow broken glass, followed by an entire bottle of vodka._

 _Then, the pain stopped as soon as it came. He was left on his bloody hands and knees, gasping for breath. He couldn't cry, not that he would because he didn't want to give his tormentor the satisfaction. All that was left from the episode were aches. Everything ached so very, very much._

 _"Had enough?" the voice asked in an amused tone. The shadows had darkened around him, as if they were feeding off his torment. "You can end it you know. It can all be over. It can be just another nightmare. You know how make this go away."_

 _He looked in the direction the voice was coming from with a determined glint in his sky colored eyes. There was a sharp, almost eager intake of breath. It thought it finally won. Soon, it could set its foul plans in motion. All it needed was him to utter the three golden words that would—_

 _"Go to Hell."_

* * *

"The Ultimate Wrath," Bayonetta mused as she studied the overweight penguin before her. "Now why would you assume that I know anything about that?"

King Dedede shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Normally, he would avoid the witch at any cost, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what Ganon's mumblings were about. Every time he thought about them, a shiver went down his spine. Usually Ganondorf's mumblings were about his next plan to take over Hyrule, but something about this particular mumbling felt off. It somehow felt more ominous than usual.

So, King Dedede was left with few options but to go to Bayonetta. After all, if Ganon was planning something that involved this "ultimate wrath," then he needed to know what it was. He needed to be prepared like he was last time.

"I figured it was something right up your alley," he replied.

"The ultimate wrath could refer to many different things. How did you know to come to me?"

In truth, King Dedede had no idea how he knew to come to Bayonetta. After all, she wasn't the only one in the mansion who knew about magic. He figured he could have gone to one of the Robins claiming that he needed to know for "intellectual purposes" and they would have given him the information he needed. But something about going to Bayonetta felt right. It was almost like something was subconsciously steering him towards her.

"Look," he said impatiently, "can you help me or not?"

"It depends," Bayonetta replied with a shrug. The witch was a sly one. Of course there was a price attached.

She actively hunted angels, but that didn't mean she hadn't picked anything up from them. Her knowledge of their society was only rivaled by Pit's, who was one of them and had actively participated in their society at one point. She was, however, the only one of the two willing to share her knowledge with those who asked, which made it a valuable commodity. Really, she'd be stupid to not put a price tag on it.

"Look, lady, if you want money, then you can forget it."

The Umbra witch let out a soft laugh. "You think I want money? That's cute. No, _your majesty..._ I want a favor."

King Dedede narrowed his eyes suspiciously. This wouldn't be the first time that somebody had attached something like this as their price for information. "What kind of favor?"

Bayonetta smiled coyly. "A favor that's for me to know and you to find out when I need it."

She knew how to play her cards just right. She had heard of Dedede's badges that saved the day, and she knew that there was a storm brewing in the mansion. Dedede was out to save his own neck, which could be beneficial to her. But, she needed to let him believe that she had no idea that she knew why he wanted her help.

And, how often could one say that a king was indebted to them?

* * *

Lightning flashed brilliantly across the unholy pitch black sky. The wind howled like a vicious beast, rattling the mansion's shutters and ripping leaves off the trees. Thunder boomed off in the distance, giving the illusion that someone was firing cannons. But strangely enough, there was no rain.

"Something's happening tonight," Lucario muttered to himself as he watched the display outside from a window. "That can be the only explanation."

The door slowly creaked open behind him. The Pokémon quickly turned around, his paws ignited a bright blue with his aura as he prepared to defend himself. Lucario quickly let down his defenses when he saw who it was.

"Pika, pika!"

"Hello Pikachu," Lucario greeted. "Sorry, I thought you were somebody else."

"Pi, pika!" the electric type replied.

"You sense it too? There is something strange about this storm… I don't have a clue what it means."

"Pikachu?"

"No, but whatever it is, it can't be good."

Pikachu hesitantly crawled up to the window to get a good look at the storm that was raging outside. Lucario stepped aside to make room for his fellow Pokémon. The two stood in silence for a while as they watched.

"It just came on so suddenly," Lucario commented.

"Pika…" Pikachu agreed. He sounded somewhat worried. Suddenly, the electric type Pokémon yelped and jumped backwards. Lucario stumbled backwards as the tree in front of the window split in half.

Pikachu filled his cheeks with electricity and started growling. "Pi…"

Any doubt in their mind about the unnaturalness of the storm was wiped from their minds by the sight of deep purple lightning illuminating the sky.

* * *

Marth paced the hallway nervously. In his experience, a stormy night was never a good omen. It was particularly troubling, especially after Master Hand's announcement about the missing shadow bugs.

Everyone in the mansion had been on edge ever since the news broke. The feeling of mistrust that hung in the air during dinner was so thick that Marth could have cut it with the dullest blade in the world. The tension was so overwhelming that the slightest noise would have caused the shaky peace to descend into absolute chaos.

Marth had taken it upon himself to patrol the hallways, looking for the slightest hint of suspicious activity. Of course, the usual suspicious activity was hard to distinguish from potentially malicious suspicious activity.

Wario, of course, was partaking in his various, most likely illegal dealings, so that meant that Marth had caught many shady figures. The prince had a feeling that Wario was selling illicit substances and contraband; however he couldn't exactly prove it. Wario may be lazy, but he wasn't sloppy (at least when it came to his various money making schemes), so there wasn't any solid evidence that he was actually committing a crime.

A noise off to the side interrupted Marth from his musings. Drawing his sword, he quickly put himself up against the wall. He was alone, and he had no idea what he was up against. He knew he should have asked Ike or Link to be his backup, but hindsight is always 20/20.

Quietly, he got close enough to the game room that he could hear, but not too close so he could quickly duck out of sight, if need be.

"So you came," Wario's voice grunted. "Figured it'd be a night like tonight."

Nobody answered, but Marth could tell that there were in fact two people in the room. The prince felt his gut sink. There was something off about Wario's mysterious client.

"What?" Wario demanded gruffly. "Am I going to be doing all the talking?"

There was still no response, causing the minigame proprietor to huff in disgust. The was a loud bump that sounded almost as if he was slamming a glass on the wooden coffee table.

"Look, you little bastard," Wario growled, "I risked my neck to get this for you, and only because you promised to pay well. If Master Hand were to find out I'm the one who took this, well, it wouldn't end well for me. The least you could do is answer me."

Marth was taken aback. It took every fiber of his being not to gasp in shock. If Master Hand found out… No, it couldn't be… There was no way… Was there?

Everyone knew that Wario would do anything for money, but surely the minigame proprietor wasn't the one who stole the missing shadow bugs… right?

* * *

"Ouch!" Bowser growled as Dr. Mario swabbed his wounds with hydrogen peroxide. "Watch it!"

Dr. Mario glared at the Koopa King but said nothing as he put a freshly soaked piece of cotton on the wound, causing Bowser to howl again. Ganondorf got a few hits in during their fight earlier, but the open wounds came from Link's sword when he intervened. Because he acquired the injuries outside of a match, Bowser would have to suffer until they healed naturally.

But Bowser was still fuming over what happened earlier to even care. How dare Ganondorf even think about going near his son, let alone try to hurt him. Had Bowser not intervened when he did, the King of Evil surely would have done something to hurt Jr. and those two heroes. After all, that Ness would have told Ganon something that was bound to enrage him.

Dr. Mario began wrapping Bowser's cuts. "Change the bandages daily. Watch out for signs of infection. If it's not healing within two weeks, come and see me."

"Whatever," Bowser scoffed as he tugged experimentally at the bandages, earning a stern glare from the doctor.

Suddenly, Zelda frantically burst into the infirmary. She yanked back the curtains surrounding the few hospital beds, and groaned in frustration when she didn't find what she was looking for. Falco entered a few moments later.

"Anything?" she demanded.

The bird shook his head. "Nothing. Ike and Corrin said he wasn't in the training room, Wario didn't know who I was even talking about, he wasn't in the library with either of the Robins, Marth's on patrol and hasn't seen him, Link says he wasn't in his room, and Peach says she hasn't seen him all day."

"Who are you looking for?" Dr. Mario asked as he handed Bowser his release papers.

"We can't find him anywhere, Dr. Mario!" Zelda cried. "He's not answering anyone's calls. Where could he have gone? Could someone have broken into the mansion and kidnapped him?"

Falco scoffed. "Please. He may be the most naive person I know, but I know for a fact that he would have put up a fight if that were the case. We would have heard something."

"But it's not like him to just vanish," Zelda said worriedly. "What if he's hurt?"

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Falco insisted, but he didn't seem very convinced himself.

"Have either of you seen him anywhere?" Zelda asked the doctor and koopa king.

Both villain and doctor shared a bemused look. Zelda was normally level headed. It was so unlike her to be this frantic.

"Who?" Bowser demanded.

He was afraid of her answer, not that he'd ever admit that. What if something had happened to Jr. while Bowser was getting his injuries treated? What if Ganon had hurt his son out of revenge? He was going to murder the King of the Gerudos if he so much as laid a hand on—

"Pit, of course. We can't find him anywhere."

* * *

 **Again, I still don't own SSB or its characters.**


	5. Chapter 5

_"Fox!" he sobbed desperately as his friend leveled the blaster right at his heart. "Please, Fox! It's me! I'm your friend!"_

 _The pilot looked at him in disgust. "Plead all you want, villain, but your rouse will never fool me. You killed him… Now prepare to die."_

 _Violet lightning flashed brilliantly across the sky as he began to laugh… Only, it wasn't his laugh. "You're a fool, Fox McCloud. He's still alive, you know. Are you really prepared to murder your dear friend in cold blood?"_

 _"Shoot him, McCloud!" Falco barked from off to the side._

 _Though he couldn't see it, he knew Falco's blaster was also pointed right at him. He looked around. Marth and Lucina both had their respective Falchion pointed at him. Link was ready to jump in with the Master Sword and Zelda had a light arrow notched in her bow. Both Robins had their most powerful tomes out. All of his friends were ready to kill him._

 _"Please," he cried. "It's me! Why don't any of you believe me?"_

 _"Because I know this kind of magic," Bayonetta replied darkly from somewhere out of his line of sight._

 _"Are you sure about that, witch?" the familiar raspy voice that had haunted his dreams for weeks asked as it escaped his lips. "You'd be surprised what his kind can handle."_

 _"Positive," she replied unflinchingly._

 _"Then kill me," the voice challenged._

 _He let out a strangled cry. "No! It's really me! Please, save me! Don't kill me!"_

 _"Shoot him, McCloud!" Falco ordered again._

 _He felt his eyes well up with tears as he met Fox's. "Please, Fox, believe me. I'm still here, and if you kill me, he wins. Fox, I am the only thing keeping his power in check. I am the only thing keeping all of you alive right now. Please,you have to believe me."_

 _Fox looked taken aback. He seemed to be mulling over what he just heard. Shouts of protest erupted behind the pilot but neither he nor Fox broke eye contact._

 _It could have been a trick of the light, but he could've sworn that he saw Fox McCloud's eyes begin to fill up with tears. But whatever emotion he thought he saw in his friend's eyes, it was gone as soon as it came. Fox readjusted his stance and tightened his grip on the blaster, his eyes filled with steely resolution. "Even if you're still in there, this is for your own good."_

 _His eyes widened in fear as he watched Fox McCloud, ace pilot and one of his good friends, pull the trigger on the blaster. Time seemed to slow around them as the shot exited the barrel of the blaster, cut through the air, and hit him squarely in the chest, right in the heart._

 _He cried out in agony. The malicious cackling echoed throughout the night as it mixed with his screams of anguish. He felt his hold on the monster slipping, but it was so very, very painful._

 _ **Let it go** , the voice hissed, egging him on. **It'll be so much easier for you if you just let go.**_

 _This wasn't happening! This couldn't happen! He had to fight it._

 _No matter how painful it was, he couldn't let go._

* * *

 _Corrin awoke in the middle of the field where she had made her fateful decision: choose Hoshido and her birth family and destroy her adopted family, choose Nohr and her adopted family and destroy her birth family, or choose neither and save them all._

 _This is going to be another one of those "What if?" scenarios, she thought to herself as she found her Nohrian and Hoshidian siblings staring at her expectantly._

 _Both sides were waiting for her to choose them over the other, but at least one of them would be disappointed._

 _"Light is the only thing that can hold the shadows at bay, little princess," Xander told Corrin suddenly._

 _"B-Big Brother?" she asked in confusion as she faced her adopted older brother. Xander had caught her off guard by speaking because she hadn't yet made her decision. And these words, while coming out of the Crown Prince of Nohr's mouth, made absolutely no sense. They were unlike anything she'd ever heard him say before._

 _"You must keep it from fading," Ryoma added gravely._

 _The rest of her siblings remained silent, yet nodded in agreement with Ryoma — even Camilla, Leo, and Elise. Corrin was growing more uneasy by the second. While the setting was extremely familiar to her, the scenario was completely foreign. And it was growing stranger and stranger by the minute._

 _Corrin turned to face the High Prince of Hoshido. "I-I don't understand."_

 _Both of her older brothers were acting strange. For one, they weren't actively trying to kill each other. And for two, their words didn't seem like they were their words. It was almost like someone was speaking through them, as if they were possessed._

 _Still, neither Xander nor Ryoma answered her questioning gaze, choosing to remain silent and stoic instead. It was unnerving to say the least._

 _"The shadows are trying to consume the light," both said in unison. "Stop it now before it's too late."_

 _"For Hoshido," Ryoma said._

 _"For Nohr," Xander corrected._

 _Good to know that her brothers' personalities were still in there somewhere, even if something was probably possessing them. The whole "For Hoshido; For Nohr" argument was something she could understand, and something they had often in these kind of dreams._

 _But the familiarity was only for a fleeting moment as whatever puppet was controlling them took hold once again._

 _"You must stop the shadows before the light is extinguished," they said together._

 _"Stop the shadows before the light is extinguished," Camilla, Hinoka, Leo, Takumi, Elise, and Sakura all echoed simultaneously. "Act now before it's too late, sister._

 _"What are you saying?" Corrin demanded fretfully as she shook her head. This was all so surreal. Any moment, she fully expected the dream to become fuzzy and the creepy chorus of her siblings' voices to fade into white noise. "I don't understand. Is this something to do with home?"_

 _Xander raised Siegfried and Ryoma raised Raijinto, but they didn't appear to be challenging each other. Instead, they pointed their swords above her. "You must stop the shadows before the light is extinguished."_

 _Corrin glanced to where her brothers' had their swords pointed and screamed in horror at the sight of—_

 _"You must stop the shadows before the light is extinguished."_

* * *

Bowser Jr. reflexively jumped at the sound of thunderous pounding coming from down the hall. He crawled out of bed and quietly approached the bedroom door before carefully pressing his ear against it as the pounding noise repeated, indicating that someone was knocking on one of the neighboring doors.

Whoever it was, they sounded absolutely furious.

"Must you really try to beat down the door like that? You'll wake the whole mansion." It was the male Corrin. His voice was tense and he sounded as if he were on edge.

Truthfully, the whole mansion was.

Dinner had been an awkward affair as everyone gave each other the silent treatment. Nobody dared to say anything out of fear of the accusations. Some even chose to forgo dinner all together in order to avoid the tension.

"Good. The whole mansion should be awake. I'm not leaving until we get answers," Ike's gruff voice said in response. The deep, booming pounding began again. "Open the door now, Ganondorf!"

"Ike," Corrin warned in distress, "he's not in there. Let's just go."

"Oh, he's in there alright," Ike grumbled. Bowser Jr. heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. "Either you answer this door right now or I break it down!"

"Ike!" the draconian prince hissed. "You can't just break his door down! Master Hand will—"

"I don't give a damn what Master Hand will do!" the Radiant Hero snarled angrily. "One of my friends is missing and I know that this bastard had something to do with it. I'm giving you five more seconds, Ganon! Answer the door or else I'm putting Ragnell right through this goddamn door!"

"You know," a dark, deep voice said ominously, "just because you're a hero, that doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want."

Bowser Jr. shuddered at the sound of Ganon's voice. The Gerudo King sounded just as furious as Ike was. Where was his papa when he needed him?

"Where is he Ganondorf?" Ike demanded surly. At least he wasn't afraid.

"I have know idea what you're talking about," Ganon replied.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Ike…" Corrin said urgently. "Let's not anger him. We're the ones who are being rude."

Ganon let out a dark chuckle. "You should listen to your freaky little dragon friend here, tough guy. Though you're not the only one being rude."

Suddenly, the door became shrouded in shadows and began to quake. Jr. let out a yelp and stumbled backwards just as the door flung itself wide open.

Ike and Corrin looked at the koopa prince in confusion as Ganondorf glared at him menacingly, his right hand alight with the same dark magic he had used to open the door. "Didn't your idiotic father ever teach you that it's rude to eavesdrop?"

Before Bowser Jr. could react, he found a dark ball of energy being hurled straight at him. He braced himself… But the hit never came.

Instead, Corrin was standing in front of him, the flaming Omega Yato drawn defiantly. He had volleyed the shot back at the Gerudo King with the legendary blade. "You've crossed the line, Ganondorf."

Ike had Ganon pinned against the wall with Ragnell. "You dare attack a child?"

Footsteps echoed off the hardwood floor as someone raced towards them. Before Bowser Jr. knew it, Marth was standing before them, Falchion drawn defensively. "What's going on?"

"Ganondorf just tried to attack Bowser Jr.," Corrin replied, still ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

Marth sighed as he pointed his blade at the evil king, though he did lower it slightly. "Ganondorf, you know that you cannot attack another fighter outside of a match, especially not a child. I have to report this to Master Hand."

"Come on, Marth," Ike said coolly. His voice was level and calm, but it was still easy to tell that he was enraged. "Why can't we just rough him up a bit? Teach him a lesson, do Link a favor, and see what he knows about Pit's whereabouts. Then we can report him to Master Hand."

"Ike, we can't just—" Marth started before cutting himself off. "Wait, what's this about Pit?"

"He's missing," Corrin answered. "Princess Zelda and Falco came into the training room and asked if we'd seen him. They seemed pretty frantic. After they left, Ike said, 'I knew he was up to something," and we came here. He seems to think that Ganondorf has had a hand in Pit's disappearance."

Fire flashed in Marth's blue eyes as he pointed the tip of Falchion under Ganondorf's chin. "Think over your next words very carefully, King of the Gerudos. What do you know of Pit's disappearance?"

Marth's words were venomous and his tone radiated absolute wrath, though it was calm and level. It was official. Bowser Jr. had found someone who was much scarier than his papa and Ganondorf combined.

"I don't know anything. I don't even know who 'Pit' is," Ganon replied darkly.

"He's lying," Ike grunted.

Marth ignored both Ganondorf's answer and Ike's remark as he inched his blade closer to the villain's throat. "What do you know of the missing shadow bugs?"

"Surely you don't think he took them?" Corrin asked in shock.

"It makes sense," Ike mused as he adjusted his grip on his own blade. "Whoever is responsible for Pit's disappearance is probably also whoever took the missing shadow bugs."

"I'll ask you again," Marth spat, his words laced with poison. "What happened to the shadow bugs? Where are they? Did you pay Wario to steal them for you?"

Ganondorf started laughing, causing Ike and Marth to inch their swords closer to his skin. Corrin raised his Yato and threw out an arm to shield Bowser Jr. from any incoming attacks.

"Perhaps this Pit took them and ran off," Ganon suggested slyly.

Ike's eyes hardened as he brought the tip of Ragnell down so it was positioned right over the evil king's heart. Marth shook his head in disgust as he brought Falchion away from Ganon's throat.

"Ike, help me escort him to Master Hand," Marth ordered. He turned to face the other hero and Bowser Jr. "Corrin, Ike and I can handle this from here. If you would be so kind, could you please take Bowser Jr. to his father? I would feel much better knowing he is safe. Just explain the situation to Bowser; I'm sure he'll be grateful. The last I saw him, he was in the infirmary."

"Of course," the draconian prince affirmed as he sheathed Omega Yato. He turned and helped Jr. up. "Let's go find your father, shall we?"

"Get going, you filthy bastard," Ike snarled as he dug Ragnell's point ever so slightly into Ganon's back. "And don't you be getting any ideas."

"Ike," Marth warned coldly as he followed with Falchion pointed at their prisoner.

The two heroes and the villain quickly faded from sight as they headed towards Master Hand's office.

Corrin rested one hand on Yato's hilt and grabbed one of Bowser Jr.'s hands with the other, and the koopa prince let him. In all honesty, there was something comforting in knowing the the fateful prince was keeping him safe. That confrontation between the three Fire Emblem heroes and Ganondorf was probably the most terrifying thing Jr. had ever seen in his entire life.

But there was one thing that was bothering Jr. about the whole situation: why hadn't Ganondorf answered the door when Ike was pounding on it? Was he not in his room?

Ike had clearly suspected that Ganondorf was up to something, which must be why he had asked the Koopa Prince to—

But wait, just because he wasn't in his room, didn't mean that Ganondorf was plotting something nefarious. Well, okay, he was probably coming up with a new evil scheme. But, he was Link's main opponent, so he was probably coming up with his next plot to over take Hyrule.

That meant it was nothing Ike needed to concern himself with, right? After all, Ike couldn't really do anything to stop Ganon's next attack on Hyrule besides warning Link and Zelda. And even then, Ganon's next plot could and probably would unfold when a new Link and Zelda appeared in Hyrule.

But if it was another attack on Hyrule that he was plotting, then why was Ganondorf wandering the halls of Smash Mansion in the middle of the night?

* * *

Dark Pit awoke with a start. Something was very wrong. The thin string that connected his soul to Pit's was tense, as if something were pulling it on the other end. Normally, Dark Pit wouldn't be concerned, but there was something off about whatever was pulling at it. Something unnatural. And it felt like whatever was yanking on the connection was about to break it, something that would end badly for the angel.

"Viridi!" he called out urgently, hoping the goddess would answer. As far as he knew, she was still with Palutena. He didn't like relying on the goddess of nature, but this was an emergency.

Much to his relief, she answered. "What do you want? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Are you still with Palutena?" he asked, ignoring her questions.

"Yes, she's still with me," Palutena answered. "Is everything alright?"

"I need you to check on Pit. Now!"

"Okay…"

"Where's the fire?" Viridi asked.

"Something's wrong with him. I can feel it," Dark Pit muttered.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's probably sleeping," she said. "I mean, we don't want to wake him and deal with his attitude, do we? I mean, I don't know what his problem was this morning, but-"

"I can't get in contact with Pit!" Palutena cried. "I can't even sense him!"

"What?!" Viridi and Dark Pit demanded simultaneously.

"I-I don't know! It's like something's interfering. It's like, something severed the connection I had to him," she replied. "Lucina and Link are the closest to Pit's room. I've sent them to go check on him."

Dark Pit threw the covers off and got up out of bed. That wasn't good enough for him. Pit was in danger and he wasn't just going to sit around and wait for two strangers to report back to Palutena, who didn't even notice anything was wrong until Dark Pit said something.

He just hoped that whatever was going on, it wasn't too late.

* * *

 **Can you tell that I was playing Fire Emblem Fates all weekend? I finally made time to beat Revelations and it was by far my favorite path, probably because all of the siblings live (though I will say Elise's death scene in Birthright is probably the most emotional part of the entire game and, therefore, my favorite part; spoilers, sorry). Totally knew Gunter was going to betray Corrin because he was the only one who didn't have any support conversations (well, besides Scarlet but she was destined to die after two chapters so there would have been no point…; again, spoilers, sorry).**

 **Anyway, the plot is the only thing that belongs to me.**


End file.
